Morcha campaign to focus on land rights

VIVEK CHHETRI AND BIRESWAR BANERJEE, TT, 15 Mar 2019, Darjeeling/Bagdogra: The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha on Thursday hinted that granting land rights in tea gardens, cinchona plantations and other leasehold lands would be one of its major campaign planks in the Lok Sabha elections.

"One of the important issues is granting land rights to tea garden and cinchona plantation workers. People staying in D.I. Fund (Darjeeling Improvement) areas and the development area in Kalimpong and other parts of the district also have land rights," Morcha leader Binay Tamang said.

Tamang who accompanied Morcha-Trinamul candidate Amar Singh Rai to Darjeeling from Calcutta, said an eightpoint demand submitted by his party to Mamata Banerjee and "Third Front" leaders had been accepted by them. "Third Front" refers to the gathering of national Opposition figures at the January 19 Brigade rally in Calcutta convened by the Bengal chief minister.

"The DI Fund land and development land will have to be transferred to the land and land reforms department before giving them (the dwellers) freehold land papers," said Tamang.

Nearly 70 per cent of the hill people do not have land rights. "This issue could hold the key to the Morcha-TMC candidate's prospects not just in the Darjeeling seat but also in the tea belt areas of Alipurduar and Jalpaiguri," said an observer.

Tamang stressed that among the eight demands, some "solely concerned the state government", appearing to indicate that the land issue could be resolved without problems.

Many believe the success of Trinamul in the Mirik civic polls of 2017 was a promise to grant land rights to the town's residents. The land was with a tea garden called Thurbo.

"The Trinamul government's record of having provided land rights could work for Tamang (in the Lok Sabha polls)," said an observer.

According to Tamang, the other five demands revolve on identity and safety of the Indian Gorkhas, granting tribal status to 11 hill communities, bringing the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) under the Centre's department of northeastern region, granting constitutional recognition to the hill body and ensuring minimum wages for tea garden workers.

Speaking on the Morcha- Trinamul tie-up, joint candidate Rai said it was the outcome of "political exigency" and "the need to be practical in politics".

Rai, the current Darjeeling MLA, is expected to resign from the Assembly soon and file his Lok Sabha nomination on March 26. The BJP won the Darjeeling seat in 2014.

At Bagdogra airport on Thursday, thousands of Morcha and Trinamul supporters welcomed Rai, Tamang and others after they touched down from Calcutta.

"After the response we witnessed on our way to Darjeeling and in Bagdogra, we can say that our candidate will win by 2 lakh votes," said Tamang. Rai exuded similar optimism.

Gautam Deb, state minister and Trinamul's Darjeeling (plains) chief, lavished praise on Rai. "He is an educationist and respected across the hills. We are confident he will win the seat," said Deb..